Although everyone from Terry Jones, the Lewin Group and Charles Krauthammer have been pessimistic about issues such as the Affordable Care Act and EHRs, Dan Diamond, contributor for Forbes, argues that the real reason physicians are quitting is because of old age, and not because of outrage.
Here are four things to know about "America's aging doctors" according to Mr. Diamond at Forbes:
1. United States physicians in their mid-50s, or older, have outpaced physicians between the age of 35 and 54.
2. There are 70 percent of physicians planning to work longer because of economic downturn, according to a 2011 survey as cited in Forbes.
3. As the economy improves, physicians are retiring at higher rates. A 2014 AMGA survey cited an average turnover rate of 6.8 percent in 2013 and 2012, "significantly higher than the lowest rate of 5.9 percent reported in 2009."
4. Mr. Diamond believes EHRs may be pushing some physicians away, but those physicians may already have been leaning towards retirement. "Fighting against digital records is like fighting the sun. The era of EHR is rising because it needs to," said Mr. Diamond.
